What Could Go Wrong

A Brief and Unreliable History of Friday the 13th

No one really knows when Friday the 13th got its reputation, but like most superstitions, it crept in quietly, made itself at home, and refused to leave.

Let’s start with the number 13. It’s long been considered unlucky, partly because it follows 12, a number cultures have historically found comforting. There are 12 months in a year, 12 hours on a clock face, 12 gods of Olympus, and 12 apostles at the Last Supper (we’ll get back to them). Thirteen feels like a mistake. An afterthought. One too many.

Then there’s Friday. In many cultures, Friday has carried a whiff of misfortune. In Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Some versions of the Adam and Eve story say the fruit was eaten on a Friday. Even Chaucer, writing in the 14th century, claimed that bad things happen on Fridays. Though to be fair, most things were bad in the 14th century.

Tortured, murdered, deeply unlucky

The specific pairing of Friday and the 13th is a relatively modern invention. One popular theory ties it to Friday, October 13, 1307, when King Philip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Knights Templar. Many were tortured or executed. It was a deeply unlucky day for them, though they weren’t around to start the rumour.

The superstition gained cultural traction in the 19th and 20th centuries. Thomas Lawson’s 1907 novel, Friday the Thirteenth, told the story of a stockbroker who deliberately crashed the market on that day. Then came the mid-century trivia books, horror films with Jason and jamie, and newspaper columns that helped codify the date as one to dread.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

The fear of Friday the 13th even has a name, paraskevidekatriaphobia, which sounds like a joke but isn’t. It’s estimated that millions of people avoid travel, big decisions, or even going to work on this day. Some businesses lose money as a result. Others profit handsomely.